President Joe Biden caves in the face of demands from railroad unions in order to avoid a strike. The deal may temporarily reduce disruptions to supply lines and transportation, but it also shows how his administration’s cozy relationship and advocacy for unions leaves the nation vulnerable.
“Together we reached an agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruptions of our economy,” the president said, at an event celebrating the deal.
“This agreement is validation — validation of what I’ve always believed: Unions and management can work together — can work together for the benefit of everyone.”
But what exactly kind of agreement did the Biden administration get, and will it help American consumers.
The answer simply is no.
According to the deal, railroad union workers will receive a staggering 24% pay increase over four years. When will that four years be? Well, we’re already halfway through it as the time period began in 2020 and ends in 2024. That means that retroactively all these workers will get a massive boost to their salary, with an estimated average of about $11,000.
This lump sum payout and other bonuses promised will soon be passed onto consumers, as railroad companies have to offset these additional costs in some way.
Though avoiding a strike that could halt the country’s transportation industry is a good thing—unfortunately, at the end of the day American consumers are not left in a better situation. President Biden’s cozy relationship with unions will likely lead to more and more headaches in the future.
A month before his inauguration, Biden promised to be “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen,” and he’s lived up to that reputation.
Minutes after he was sworn in, the president told Trump-appointed Peter Robb, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, that he could either be fired or resign.
Robb refused, as he was only 10 months into a Senate confirmed 4-year position. Needless to say, the administration terminated him. Subsequently his deputy, Alice Stock, was given the same notice a day later, after she had assumed Robb’s post in his absence. They were both considered anti-union and had to go to appease Biden’s union overlords .
That President Biden feels the need to lobby on behalf of unions, especially given their continual decline, proves that he’s not interested in getting the economy back on track but in lining the pockets of union leaders.
For more about the dangers that unions pose to the economy, read Locke’s Paige Terryberry’s analysis on the dangers of the union championed PRO Act or the Protecting the Right to Organize Act here.
